as it whistles through the pines
by OneDreamADay
Summary: Even when everything seems bleak, and Clementine thinks she will never be truly happy, there are true miracle that happen; that remind her that there will always be light at the end of that long dark tunnel.
1. Chapter 1

When Sarah tells the adults about the man coming to the cabin, there's a rush of packing up clothes and items before he comes back. Why he would come back, Clementine isn't too true, and no one seems keen on telling the full story right now.

So she focuses on helping Sarah help pack up her stuff, which isn't too much; some shirts, a jacket, a pair of jeans and two books.

"I'm gonna miss this place," the older girl laments. "Even if it was cold at night, the cabin's been a good place to stay at. Plus there was the river."

"Hopefully we'll find a better place, sweetie." Her father says. "Now, have you gotten everything? You don't want to leave anything behind."

"Yeah, I have it all packed. Clementine helped,"

The doctor doesn't acknowledge the last statement, but then again, Clementine wasn't expecting a 'thank you' or anything from him.

* * *

><p>On the way into the woods, they find Pete holed up in the cigarette truck where he helped Clementine escape from. He's thirsty and hungry, but alive and well. Nick gives him a hug while everyone smiles in relief.<p>

"I'm sorry Uncle Pete, I should have tried to help you an' Clem."

"Don't worry 'bout it, boy. Hell, just happy to see you alive." He looks down at Clementine. "And I'm glad you made it."

"Me too," Clementine answers truthfully.

* * *

><p>Five days later, they come to rest near a bridge. Clementine offers to go across with Luke, but instead Nick goes with him while she's made to sit with Sarah.<p>

"Watch that trigger finger, son!" Pete called after them. Nick makes a face at that, but say nothing and continues after Luke.

"Don't look so upset," Carlos tells Clementine and she looks up at him. "It might be dangerous, and we can't put a little girl in the middle of that."

Clementine nods and keeps an eye on the guys on the bridge through some binoculars. She sees another guy approach the two and there a moment where no one does anything, so she assume the three are talking.

"What's goin' on Clem? Anything?" Rebecca asks her and the girl explains.

"I hope he's not trying anything," Alvin says, "We really don't need any shit right now." All of the adults echo that sentiment.

Clementine, unsure of what to say to that, goes back to watching the bridge. Whatever the men were talking about ended, and Luke waves them over.

"This here is Matthew," Luke says when they get across. "He's got some food back at a ski lodge. Enough of all of us."

The guy named Matthew nods. "Sharing isn't a problem at all. Everyone back at the lodge is pretty cool too."

"Whose all in your group?" Pete asks.

"Five of us, including myself. For the first couple of months, it was me and my partner, Walter. A few months after this all started, we met up with two other guys and we've been doing all right. Sarita is the newest addition to our group."

Rebecca lets out another labored breath and Clementine gives her a worried look. "Are you okay? Do we need to stop?"

The woman gives a weak smile. "Don't worry, Clem, I'm okay. The baby's just kicking up a storm right now."

"Really?" Sarah gasps. "Maybe he's ready to come out and meet everyone,"

"It could be a girl," Rebecca reminds her. "Hopefully it'll wait until we can get to the lodge; out in the woods with nothing to deliver a baby with is a scary thought."

Thinking of Christa and her baby, Clementine silently agrees.

* * *

><p>They made it to the ski lodge in at a decent pace and Clementine is amazed by the size of it. "This place is huge,"<p>

Matthew laughs. "Yeah, and there are more than enough rooms for everyone."

Luke looks up at the ski lift. "Mind if we go up there to see the sights?"

"Sure no problem. I'm gonna go get the others so you guys can get meet 'em."

Luke and Clementine make their way to the lift while everyone goes inside. Being smaller, Clementine offers to climb up.

"So, any thoughts about that guy?" Luke asks as Clementine starts to climb.

"He's a nice guy. His group seems like they could be good too. I wonder if they actually have enough food for everyone."

"Hope so too, Clem. It'd be nice to eat a warm meal that's not only granola bars and apple juice."

Taking out the binoculars, Clementine can see the bridge they came across, and when she looks at the edge line of the forest, see two lights coming from the woods. While she hopes it's not Carver still chasing them, she's not gonna take the chance of not telling the others.

"Hey Clem!" Luke calls up to her. "C'mon down and meet everyone!" And it waits as she makes it safely to the ground again. "See anything up there?"

"Lights."

"Lights?"

"Yeah, from a flashlight. Two of them."

Luke frowns. "We'll tell the others. We'll have to book it in the morning after everyone has had a good night sleep."

They head inside, where the heat warms Clementine instantly. She meets Sarita, an Indian woman; and Walter, Matthew partner. (Clementine thinks they might mean 'boyfriend').

Matthew goes back outside to round up the rest of their group, who were outside fortifying the building.

"And here's the youngest member of our group Benjamin," Walter says as the front door open. Clementine can't get a good look at him, with a hood obscuring his face.

"Benjamin sound way to formal. Ben is fine." The young man says, lowering his hood. "I'm Ben. Ben Paul."


	2. Chapter 2

_"What about Ben? And Kenny?" Clementine asked that night around the small campfire they made. Omid and Christa look at each other, then back at her._

_"I don't think they made it Clem," Omid says. "Kenny said he was gonna find a boat to put on the water, but after that we never saw him... And Ben got trapped in a herd...I don't think there he was able to make it out of there alive..."_

_Clementine is well aware that things like this will happen now; that you could meet someone one day and they could be gone the next._

_But that doesn't make the loss any easier and it finally sinks in that everyone she's met and stayed with during the months at the motor inn are all gone._

* * *

><p>Clementine's eyes widen in surprise because it's Ben standing in front of her. Still tall and lanky, with a tiny mustache visible. He's lost the jersey jacket she remembers him wearing last and instead is wearing a blue hoodie and dark brown cargo pants.<p>

Ben's noticed her too; for a moment, they just stand there, staring at each other until it's Ben who breaks the silence.

"Clementine!" She feels herself being tightly hugged and she hugs back just as hard.

"You guys know each other?" She hears Nick ask in the background.

"Ben was with me, back in our old group." Clementine explains. It's not an exact story, but it will do for now.

"Oh man, wait 'till he sees you; he's gonna be surprised as hell!" Ben exclaims

"Who?" Clementine asks, but Ben has already disappeared out the door again. He's gone for just a second, then comes back in, a second person in tow.

And Clementine's eyes widen in surprise because the one person she was sure was dead, is standing right in front of her.

"LEE!"

She rushes to him so fast and hard that they both topple over. She takes a long good look at his face and it's Lee for sure, a longer beard, and his hair is longer and messy. Where he'd cut his arm off, there was something like a plastic arm is there

"You've grown so much Sweet Pea," He murmurs in amazing and suddenly Clementine's crying hard. Sobbing actually - because she's sure she's in a dream and at any moment, she's gonna wake up, maybe back in the shed, slowly dying of an infected dog bite.

"I can't believe it...I thought you were... you were... and I couldn't.." All the words she wants to say come out in a rush and she know she's not making any sense and all she wants right now is not for this moment to end.

Eventually, though, they do separate, Lee dusting himself off as he gets from the floor. Luke is the first to approach him.

"It's an honor to meet you. Clem, she's said a lot about you."

"All of it good, I hope," Lee jokes, and everyone introduces themselves once again and Ben leads everyone inside the main room. It's nice and cozy, with a fireplace going, classical music playing softly in the background. Inside here, it's almost like there's no apocalypse going on.

"Look, Dad!" Sarah gasps. "A Christmas tree!"

"Isn't it great? We found it all in storage."

"It's beautiful," Sarah agrees, and Clementine does as well. It's been a long time since she's seen any kind of holiday decorations, and even though it might not be Christmas, it does set a festive mood in the air.

While Sarita and Sarah finish decorating the tree, and the others resting upstairs, Clementine, Ben, and Lee were able to do some catching up on what happened. Ben starts first.

"After I managed to escape that herd, I just sort of wandered around for a bit. I was with a different group for a while, but that fell apart. Eventually, it was Sarita who found me, holed up in an old restaurant. Some time after that we ran into Lee."

Lee's silent for a while and Clementine recognizes that look on his face. It's the one a lot of survivors wear nowadays; it's like they're caught in remembering the past and suddenly you can't help about think about all the deaths and bad things that happened.

At times, Clementine finds herself do the same thing too.

Lee recalls his and Clem's final goodbye, before he slipped into unconsciousness. (Clementine doesn't bring up how she slowly and tearful backed away from him when this happened; how she was afraid that he'd reanimate and attack her before she could get away.)

"I remember feeling tired- exhausted, like I hadn't slept for years. Tried sticking to the country, hoping I'd find Christa and Omid and Clem. Ran into some people, some friendly; some..not. One of the friendlier guys fitted me with this." He motions to the prosthetic arm.

There's silence for a while before Clementine begins her story. When she mentions the death of the baby and Omid, and Christa's disappearance, Lee looks absolutely heartbroken.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all that, sweet pea. I wish I could have been there for you." Lee says as he gives her a tight hug.

Ben looks over where Pete and Walter are talking about whatever is cooking in a pot. "Seems like you found a pretty nice group now," Ben adds in. "They don't look that bad."

Like a flash, though she remembers Carver and the lights in the woods and she knows she needs to tell the guys about that.

"Lee, there are people following us; bad people, I mean. I saw their flashlight in the wood when we arrived here."

The older man turns and looks over at the members of the group, then back at Clementine. "C'mon, on Ben, let's handle this right quick." At Clementine concerned gaze, he adds. "Don't worry, Clem. We're just gonna get the full story and finish boarding the place up. No violence, I promise."

The two go to where Walter and Matthew are setting the table, and there's a quick, hushed conversation. After a while, it's Walter who announces dinner and everyone gathers at the table.

Sitting between Luke and Lee, Clementine gives her bowl of...whatever it is... a funny look.

"It's beans and peaches," Ben explains, digging in. "It doesn't sound that appetizing, but it doesn't taste that bad." Clementine gives a hesitant taste and finds he's right. It's has a taste of sweet baked beans, but it's decent.

"So, Luke, right?" Ben starts. "Were you guys plan on staying, or where you gonna move on?"

"Move on, most likely."

"You and your group are more than welcome to stay here," Lee adds. "We can help protect you guys."

"Protect?"

"Look man, I'm not gonna lie: Clementine's told me why you guys were running." Luke stares at him and then Clementine, looking a bit guilty. "I don't know why you guys wouldn't tell me this, but I'd be damned if I'm gonna have my girl on the run all the time with someone chasing her. You guys are staying here, at least till we know it's safe."

Luke seems to think it over for a while, then agrees. "Yeah, that sounds good. I'll run it by my people let them know. It'll be good to sleep with a roof over our heads."

While Lee's group goes outside to work in securing the rest of the building, Clementine joins Luke as he talks the cabin group. When Luke reveals that it was Clementine who told Lee, Nick gives the girl a hard stare.

"What the hell did you do that for? They didn't need to know that shit."

"They did," Clementine insists.

"The fuck they did," Nick retorts, but Clementine talks over him.

"What would happen if Carver arrived here and saw up here?"

She must have hit a nerve, because everyone goes silent and looks uncomfortable at the thought. "Lee's a great guy, Ben too. I trust them a hundred percent."

"Yeah, well people can change." Nick fires back and Clementine huffs in annoyance.

"I know you guys didn't trust me with the whole dog bite thing, but all I'm asking is that you guys just trust me this one time."

"I do." A voice pipes up and Clementine is surprised to see that it's Sarah who spoke up. "I trust you. She was honest with me when we first met, and when Carver was at the cabin, she lied to protect us." Sarah looks up at her dad. "Clementine's a good friend, Dad."

Pete and Luke speak up for her as well, and Clementine can't help but smile, because it's good to know that you have at least a good few people on your side.

The sound of a loud whirling noise catches everyone's attentions, then suddenly the light go out. Ben rushes back in. "Sorry, Lee had to kill the power. Wind turbine was going out of control because of the storm coming in."

"Noise that loud would've attracted some lurkers for sure. Good call on that." Alvin says.

"Sarita and Matthew will be on the watch for tonight, so guys go ahead and try to get some rest." Ben pulls out some blankets and pillows for everyone; they smell a bit musty, but they are warm and comfortable.

After Walter smothers the fire for the night, it becomes cold fast and Clementine bundles more into her blankets.

Everyone's lying out the main hall, (with Rebecca claiming the couch) trying to sleep, but no one seem to be able too, so mostly there are hushed conversations going on. Clementine can understand: though she is tired, the fact that Carver is out there trying to track them down is still nerve-racking to her.

"I want to be safe here," Sarah whispers to her. "He's not gonna find us here, is here?"

Carlos opens his mouth to say something, but before he can say anything, Clementine beats him to it. "Of course we are. Lee and the others will keep us safe. Everything's gonna be okay."

Ben shushes everyone and they all quiet instantly. From outside they can hear talking, and one voice Clementine immediately recognizes as Carver's. It's not really clear what's being said, but when someone starts pulling tight on the board, (that thankful don't budge) it's clear that they are trying to get in.

"This ain't gonna bulge, Bill," A voice says near one of the windows., a woman by the sound of it, though it's heavily muffled. "Whoever did this got it locked up tight."

Clementine feels someone squeezing her hand tightly, and when she looks down, she sees that it's Sarah who's holding it. She gives a squeeze back.

"Just relax, okay? We're gonna be safe." The younger girl repeats. It's like the cabin over again, but this time, Clementine can feel like she can handle Sarah's anxiety a little better than before. "Take a couple of breaths, like you did before."

Eventually, the footsteps go away and Ben shortly gives the all-clear that's safe. But the mood is heavy in the room and it a very long time before anyone can go to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, after breakfast and no sign of Carver or his people creeping around, everyone seems a lot more cheerful. To show their appreciation, some of the cabin members volunteer to help out with the chores that need to be done. Matthew and most of the guys go out to do some hunting, Ben pulls Clementine and Sarah aside and asks them if they want to help him.

"Fishing?" Clementine eyes the fishing poles that Ben is holding up. "There's a fishing area here?"

"It's a bit of a walk, about 30 minutes but it's been really handy lately when everyone's tired of canned beans and peaches. Lee and I sometimes manage to catch a rabbit or possum every so often. Sometimes a raccoon."

"A raccoon?" Though she and Christa often caught a lot of things, a raccoon hadn't been on the list of animals Clementine never really wanted to try,

"It's actually not that bad. Sarita and Walter are the best cooks here and they do an excellent job. Do the both of you know how to gut and clean an animal?"

Clementine made a face. "Yeah, but it's not something I like doing."

"My dad knows how to clean it out," Sarah said. "Mainly fish. But he doesn't let me do it."

"How about me an Clem can teach you?" Ben suggests. "Everyone should be able to help out any way they can."

Clementine looks over Ben, who radiates maturity now; She thinks of the timid, unsure him from two years ago and she's a bit envious she never got to see that change. "You've grown," she remarks.

Ben looks confused for a second. "So have you."

Clementine shakes her head, musing over the words she wants to say. "No, I mean, you've changed. You're not the same guy from before."

Ben looks sheepish. "Before running into the others, I'd been on my own for a while, you know. I had to learn fast."

"You must have had it rough."

"I was, for a while, you know. Finding people to trust isn't easy. And when you do, groups fall apart and- well, I was left on my own."

Clementine can see when Ben starts to drift into his won thoughts and unsure what to do, leaves him be for a while. Instead, she walks next to Sarah and they talk about last night.

"I want to not be afraid, you know," She turns to the younger girl, "I want to be brave, like you."

"I'm not brave all the time. There are plenty things I'm scared of."

"Like what?"

Instead of saying the normal things like walkers, or the fear of losing someone, she replies with, "Spiders."

* * *

><p>When the three get to the lake, Ben shows them the fish traps they made (only two of them have fish in and Clementine's stomach grows in hunger of being able to eat actually meat. Ben baits the hooks for them, and after a good few hours', they have more than enough for everyone.<p>

By nightfall, they have reached the ski lodge, and both girls were exhausted; Ben too, if the huge yawn he let was anything to go by.

When Sarah sees her father, she rushes to him and gives him a hug. In a rush of breath, she excitedly tells him about their days. "Ben was a great teacher! Clem was too. She wasn't even scared to hook the worms."

"I'm glad you had fun, sweetie." Carlos takes the fish and heads over to the kitchen area.; the girls following him. "Thanks for all your hard work. I can take care of this."

"Can I help with that, dad?" Sarah asks, but Carlos shakes his head.

"Maybe another time. Why don't you go ahead and get cleaned up?"

The other girl looks upset and Clementine put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm sure your dad will come around. He has to."

Sarah smiles. "Yeah, maybe. I'm gonna go ahead and take a shower. I bet we all smell like fish."

Clementine sniffs at her clothes and wrinkles her nose. "Ugh, you're right. Let me know when you're finished."

"I will. I'll try and leave some hot water for you and Ben."

"So, how did the fishing trip go?" A voice asks behind her and Clementine smiles when she sees Lee.

"It was alright, minus the smell of fish."

"Well, if you're not too busy, wanna help me with this wall? I could use some help."

Clementine nods and together they head outside, where Matthew and Walter were on lookout together. Upon seeing her, the younger man waves to her and she returns it.

"All this hammering tend to attract walkers." Lee explains. "It's never been anything we couldn't handle though."

"Has it been save here?" Clementine asks and Lee give her a strong look.

"Is this about the people chasing your group?"

"A little," She admits. "Last night was scary."

"No kidding. Do you know anything about this guy? Has Luke or the others said anything about him?"

"No, not anything to go off of. They just say he's a bad guy and nothing more."

Lee hums in thought and directs Clementine to a loose board that needs to be fixed. She hammers down the nails while he holds it up. "Thanks for helping. I don't have much range when using this arm."

He lifts up his prosthetic arm to show, and indeed, it doesn't have much range of motion. "Still though, it's better than nothing,"

Clementine looks down at it and feels a wave of regret that smacks her hard. "I'm sorry Lee."

"For what, Sweet Pea?"

"If I hadn't listened to that guy- hadn't run off on my own, you never would've gotten bite." Then suddenly she's crying and she feels like she's eight again and Lee's comforting her the best way he can.

"Hush now. I don't blame you at all, Clem. I never have and I never will. I blame that man for manipulating you. It wasn't your fault at all."

Lee gives her a firm hug and after Clementine calms down, they go back to the doing repairs. "Still got that hair short, I see."

"Christa helped me cut it when it got too long." Clementine says smiling at the memory. Before the tension started between them after Omid's death, she enjoyed the monthly haircuts Christa gave her.

"So how did you come across Luke and the others?"

"Some guys attacked our camp. That's when I got separated from Christa. Pete and Luke found me and save me from some walkers. Other than Pete and Luke, the other adults didn't trust me that much." then adds, "They locked me in a shed."

"What!?"

"I was bit by a dog, and they thought I was lying and that it was a walker bite." She pulls back her sleeve where the bandage was still wrapped around her arm. Although it had healed pretty well, it would leave a nasty scar. "I had to steal the supplies from them so I could treat it."

"The hell..." Lee murmurs, that pissed off look in his eyes, so Clementine quickly adds in:

"But Alvin and Sarah helped me, even if it was a little. So don't be mad at all of them."

Lee sighed. "Looks like we both had out fair of troubles, huh. But I'm glad you're safe. And they seem to trust you now."

"Yeah, mostly everyone."

They finish up outside, then Clementine finally works up the courage to ask "Did it hurt?"

"Hmm?"

"Your arm, after you cut it off."

Lee gives a wry smile. "Technically, it was Christa who did it. But it did hurt like hell. Won't wish that kind of pain on my worst enemy."

"I had to stitch up my arm. That hurt like hell."

Lee gives her an amused look. "What happened to that little girl that always reminded me no swearing?"

"She grew up," Clementine answers.

"Yeah, she did. She grew up to be strong and brave. Everything I knew she would be."

* * *

><p>The next few days pass without any real incident. Everyone gets along and other with more people around, it means more protection and night watches are easier on Lee's group.<p>

That morning finds Clementine with Sarah in front of a tree, the younger girl helping the other shoot a gun. She follows the steps Clementine gives: take a breath, aim, and shoot. There aren't any real target to shoot at, so Clementine draws a target on the tree and encourages Sarah to try and hit the middle of it, directing her when she misses.

So far she's hit four targets out six shots, and Clementine thinks that's progress. "Don't worry about perfect shots the first time shooting. I wasn't that great starting out either."

"Really?" Sarah asks. "It seems like you're a pro with them."

"You get better as use them more." Clementine shrugs, though she appreciates the compliment.

"Does the tinnitus get any better?"

"The...what?" Clementine looks confused. She's pretty sure Sarah just made up that word. It's one of those moments where she misses going to school

"Tinnitus," Sarah explains. "Is when your ears ring because a loud noise. Like a gunshot."

"Oh, yeah, it goes away eventually."

Sarah looks at the gun in her hand. "Thanks for helping me Clementine. You didn't have to."

"We're friends, right? Friends help each other."

Sarah looks surprised at that. "Yeah, they do."

Clementine is about to say something, but that gets cut off by their names being yelled. "Clementine! Sarah!"

It's Carlos, sounding frantic, and Clementine has a feeling that this won't end well at all.

Sarah runs up to her father with the younger girl right behind her. "I'm right here, Daddy."

Her father looks relieved, but when he sees the gun her hand, he frowns. "What on earth are you doing with that?"

The girls look at each other, Clementine gives a small nod. Lying won't help at all this rate.

"I was learning to use it..."

"I was teaching her to use it."

They try to say at the same time. Carlos looks at them, then takes the gun away from Sarah and hands it back to Clementine, then guides his daughter back into the lodge.

"You don't need to learn how to use that. I'll protect you, sweetie."

"Yeah, but-"

"And I told you this before," Carlos snaps. "Stay away from my daughter!"

"No dad!" Sarah yells and both Carlos and Clementine looked surprised. It's the first she's ever heard the older girl raise her voice. "Clementine is my friend! My only friend! And if you tell her she can't be my friends, then-then, I'll never talk to you again!"

With that, the older girl breaks down in tears and runs into the lodge. Carlos whirls around. "Now see what you did!"

"I didn't do anything!" Clementine says, arms crossed. "You can't baby her forever! She'll die if you keep doing that!"

"Do not tell me how I should raise my daughter! Don't forget Clementine, you are a child yourself."

"A child who knows how to defend herself," she answers. The Hispanic man says nothing and walks away in an angry huff.

Right when Carlos enters the building, Ben exits it, looking surprised when Carlos storms by. "Everything okay? I hear yelling. Well- everyone in the room could- but they didn't want to come out."

Clementine sighs. "It's nothing."

But what she feels right now- the feeling that she's drove a wedge between father and daughter- is just as heavy as the gun that's in her hand right now


End file.
